Welcome to the San Juan Islands

With its beautiful beaches, abundant wildlife, wonderful views, diverse accommodations and laid back way of life, the San Juan Islands offer a wonderful vacation retreat. Located in the northwest corner of Washington State, the islands are nestled between the Cascade and Olympic mountains.

Since the islands lie in the rain shadow of the Olympic mountains, they average only about 20-28 inches of rain a year (half the rainfall of nearby Seattle) and 240 days of sunshine. In the summer we can often go for two weeks without rain, which is why the San Juans are referred to as the Banana Belt of the Northwest. Temperatures average in the 70's during the summer with lows at night of around 55-60.

The San Juan Islands are home to a diverse wildlife community. Depending on the season you visit San Juan Islands will dictate what animals will be in the region. Birds in the area change from winter to summer. Marine mammals in the region can aslo depend on the time of year.

Abundant bird life can be found in the various habitats in the San Juan Islands. Different species of birds live in the San Juan Islands through the seasons offering birders a chance the view a wide variety of species while visiting the San Juan's. With a large population of Bald Eagles living and nesting on the islands, you have a great opportunity to see these large raptors while kayaking as they add nesting material to nest and soar above the water in search of fish. A plethora of sea birds inhabit the waters around the San Juan's. As seasons change you will see different sea birds arriving in the area. As spring approaches you will start to see Pigeon Guillemots and Rhinoceros Auklets arrive in the area. The first signs of fall bring back Bonaparte's Gulls followed by many Loons and Merganser's. Winter is a great time to kayak protected bays looking for sea birds. Birds will collect in areas of calm seas to seek out food.

The waters around the San Juan Islands are home to various marine mammals as well. With strong currents throughout the San Juan Island, nutrients are upwelled and mixed to make a rich habitat for many types of fish. Fish being on the menu for most marine mammals, makes the San Juan Islands and ideal feeding grounds.

Dall's Porpoise can been seen traveling Haro Strait in search of food. Often confused as a baby Orca due to it beautiful black and white coloring but much smaller in size. Growing to around 6 feet and with its unique knot near the tail. The Dall's can be easy to identify when seen.

Harbor Porpoise also swim the waters in search of food in the San Juan's It has a gray brownish color and a bit smaller than the Dall's Porpoise. Harbor Porpoise are shy and often disappear once spotted. We commonly see them traveling along Presidents Channel and in part of San Juan Channel.

Orca Whales are also found traveling around the San Juan Islands and one of the main attractions to the San Juan Islands. The Southern Resident pods, J,K and L, are seen here most frequently in the summer months, but are usually around in spring and fall. They tend to travel areas where salmon are abundant, which for us on San Juan Island means the Haro Strait. Resident Orca pods travel in this region feeding on salmon as the salmon make their journey to mainland rivers to spawn. Transient Orca Whales travel through the area as well. Transient Orcas feed on marine mammals such as seals and sealions. Orca Whales are an amazing part of the wildlife here in the San Juan’s and everyone is in awe when they are present.

A few different Baleen Whales can be found raoming the area near the San Juan Islands. Minke Whales can be found traveling areas around the San Juan's. With a small dorsal fin near the rear of the whale, makes it a bit more difficult to spot. Minke Whales reach a length of around 30 feet and have white bands across the pectoral fin.

Gray Whales and Humpback Whales can be seen at certain times of the year. As their migration routes taken them along the outer coast of Vancouver Island every year there are reports of individuals making their way down Strait of Juan De Fuca and in to the entrance to the San Juan Islands. Though rare to see from kayak in the San Juan’s, whale watching boats have good success spotting them in the fall in the region.

Other mammals you might encounter while visiting the area are seals and sea lions. Harbor Seals can be seen any time of the year hauled out on rocks at low tide or moving through the water along kelp beds. California and Steller Sea Lions can been spotted in fall through early spring.

California Sea Lion males can grow to near 600 pound while females are much smaller. Typically seen when hauled out on rocky area off shore of San Juan Island. Steller Seal Lions are quite large with males weighing in over 2000 pounds. These are truly majestic animals and a joy to view from a distance. Less frequently seen are

Elephant Seals. The large mammals, as much as 8000 pounds for males, are usually seen floating with their head protruding from the water. Hard to identify at first, most confuse it with a floating log.

River Otters also fill a niche here, feeding along the shore line for almost anything it can catch. Otters then to be shy and very attentive to their surroundings. So if you see one try and get a good look because once they go under water they are hard to spot again. Scurrying along the coastal edge you might see

Mink. It never fails as we paddle someone will scream Ferret. A little brown Mink is usually the culprit. More aquatic than one would think, you can see them searching for crabs in the tides zone around most of the islands here.

That is a rundown of some of the things that visit or live here full time. You can see why the San Juan Islands are such a wonderful place to kayak. With vistas of Mt. Baker, Olympic Mountain, westerly view of Vancouver Island offering amazing sunsets and it diverse wildlife and geology. It is more many one of the best kayak destination around.

The San Juan Islands are made up of a chain of 172 islands lying between Canada's Vancouver Island and the Washington State mainland. Discovery Sea Kayaks is based in the town of Friday Harbor, located along the eastern shore of the second largest island in the chain, San Juan Island.

The town is the county seat and business center for the islands and includes a harbor full of pleasure boats and commercial fishing boats. The town of Friday Harbor is a quaint town with wonderful restaurants, art galleries, gift shops, a live theatre, whale museum and historical museum. The largest four islands of the San Juans are served by the Washington State Ferry System, the largest ferry system in the United States and the only link for automobile travel to the Islands.

While the San Juans are well known for their natural beauty, they are also known for the abundant wildlife. The most famous resident of the waters surrounding the islands is the magnificent Orca whale, with three resident pods spending much of their time here hunting salmon. The islands are also home to minke and grey whales, seals, sea lions, river otters, a large population of bald eagles and more than 250 other species of birds.